Jesse Hora Dot Com makes up one half of MAKE.™, a Chicago based design team specializing in art direction, print design, lettering and illustration. Jesse’s work has been described as ‘never straying far from the ridiculous and playful while remaining detailed and incredibly thoughtful’. His versatile skill set has lead him to become commercially successful, working with a wide range of clientele from major brands to local businesses, as well as an up and coming gallery artist. Learn more about Jesse in the Interview with Jesse Hora Dot Com on Vectortuts+ and visit his portfolio at jessehora.com.

In this tutorial I will showcase three different approaches, which result in three different script lettering styles. We will start with a nice simple basic script, touch on a more athletic inspired lettering style and work our way to a classic, fancy script.

In this tutorial I will showcase three different approaches, which result in three different script lettering styles. We will start with a nice simple basic script, touch on a more athletic inspired lettering style and work our way to a classic, fancy script.Read More…

This tutorial will cover the process of creating a vintage inspired retro flyer design. There are four main areas of concentration to achieve this look and feel: color, type, character and texture. We'll review a complete vintage vector design workflow to create this retro flyer design. Let's get started.

This tutorial will cover the process of creating a vintage inspired retro flyer design. There are four main areas of concentration to achieve this look and feel: color, type, character and texture. We'll review a complete vintage vector design workflow to create this retro flyer design. Let's get started.Read More…

Follow this in-depth look at the process of designing type for a vintage style postcard in Adobe Illustrator CS5. Harken back to an era when postcards were all the rage with this friendly type style. The tutorial will delve into clipping masks, using bitmap images, working with layers and type effects.

Follow this in-depth look at the process of designing type for a vintage style postcard in Adobe Illustrator CS5. Harken back to an era when postcards were all the rage with this friendly type style. The tutorial will delve into clipping masks, using bitmap images, working with layers and type effects.Read More…

Take an in-depth look at the process of designing and illustrating a holiday reindeer illustration. This tutorial covers illustration style, color selection, shading and touches on typography. The process of adapting your illustration during creation is also covered. This tutorial is created by Jesse Hora and Darrin Higgins. Time for some holiday fun!

Take an in-depth look at the process of designing and illustrating a holiday reindeer illustration. This tutorial covers illustration style, color selection, shading and touches on typography. The process of adapting your illustration during creation is also covered. This tutorial is created by Jesse Hora and Darrin Higgins. Time for some holiday fun!Read More…

A few times a each month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of Vectortuts+. This tutorial by Jesse Hora was first published on October 20th 2009.
There are numerous ways that you could approach using a reference photo in illustration, an obvious option being to 'trace' the photo. Since there are so many microscopic details in a photograph you have to make numerous decisions on how you want the image to look in the end. Do you want it to look photorealistic? Or more stylized? Comic book-esque? Cartoon-like?
All of these decisions will result in the look and style of your final image, and your work as a whole. As a commercial designer/illustrator, the style and look of your work will make or break you. This tutorial will cover these decisions as we create an illustration from a reference photo.

A few times a each month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of Vectortuts+. This tutorial by Jesse Hora was first published on October 20th 2009.
There are numerous ways that you could approach using a reference photo in illustration, an obvious option being to 'trace' the photo. Since there are so many microscopic details in a photograph you have to make numerous decisions on how you want the image to look in the end. Do you want it to look photorealistic? Or more stylized? Comic book-esque? Cartoon-like?
All of these decisions will result in the look and style of your final image, and your work as a whole. As a commercial designer/illustrator, the style and look of your work will make or break you. This tutorial will cover these decisions as we create an illustration from a reference photo.Read More…

Editorial Illustration always presents a unique challenge. You are visually trying to represent (or encompass) the article that it will be paired with. For me there are two main areas of focus when working on an editorial illustration: concept and style.

Editorial Illustration always presents a unique challenge. You are visually trying to represent (or encompass) the article that it will be paired with. For me there are two main areas of focus when working on an editorial illustration: concept and style.Read More…

Deep down inside every designer loves a good ol' fashion logo. In-fact, as a kid you probably redrew the Nike or Lacoste logo over and over, just for fun. Or was that just me? So when a start-up business owner of an athletic training company approached me to help with their identity I was super excited about the opportunity. In this case study I will cover the process that I went through to the create the logo as well as a few of the identity pieces.

Deep down inside every designer loves a good ol' fashion logo. In-fact, as a kid you probably redrew the Nike or Lacoste logo over and over, just for fun. Or was that just me? So when a start-up business owner of an athletic training company approached me to help with their identity I was super excited about the opportunity. In this case study I will cover the process that I went through to the create the logo as well as a few of the identity pieces.Read More…

A few times a each month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of Vectortuts+. This tutorial by Jesse Hora was first published on April 28th 2009.
Working with beautiful, perfect, clean shapes in illustrator is what I love, don't get me wrong, but sometimes its nice to give an illustration a little something more. Some depth or additional layers of visual reference, when done well, can take an illustration to the next level. When done poorly they can make an illustration look amateur. We'll learn how to make a high-quality vector texture from scratch in this tutorial. Let's get started!

A few times a each month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of Vectortuts+. This tutorial by Jesse Hora was first published on April 28th 2009.
Working with beautiful, perfect, clean shapes in illustrator is what I love, don't get me wrong, but sometimes its nice to give an illustration a little something more. Some depth or additional layers of visual reference, when done well, can take an illustration to the next level. When done poorly they can make an illustration look amateur. We'll learn how to make a high-quality vector texture from scratch in this tutorial. Let's get started!Read More…

In this tutorial I will showcase three different approaches, which result in three different beveled lettering styles. Starting with my least favorite, and least complex, working my way to a style of beveled lettering that accomplishes an extremely polished and professional look.

In this tutorial I will showcase three different approaches, which result in three different beveled lettering styles. Starting with my least favorite, and least complex, working my way to a style of beveled lettering that accomplishes an extremely polished and professional look.Read More…

If there are balloons near by, you've probably had or will be having some fun. I love balloons! So in this tutorial I will cover the process of creating some illustrative shiny balloon lettering. You will also learn how to create rounded, semi-transparent, bubble letters that will make up the basis of the balloon lettering. Let's have some fun!

If there are balloons near by, you've probably had or will be having some fun. I love balloons! So in this tutorial I will cover the process of creating some illustrative shiny balloon lettering. You will also learn how to create rounded, semi-transparent, bubble letters that will make up the basis of the balloon lettering. Let's have some fun!Read More…

As opposed to discussing just the specific techniques used to target a precise niche market, I would like to start off with a few overarching thoughts. I will cover some basic, yet very useful principles to keep in mind for the bigger picture (Get it? 'Bigger picture,' like your career - hehe), and then supply a case study of how I have used them in my work.

As opposed to discussing just the specific techniques used to target a precise niche market, I would like to start off with a few overarching thoughts. I will cover some basic, yet very useful principles to keep in mind for the bigger picture (Get it? 'Bigger picture,' like your career - hehe), and then supply a case study of how I have used them in my work.Read More…